Jet Wars in the Nuclear Age

Book excerpt: This book explores the era of the 1970s right up to the present day, illustrating howfighter-bombers and tactics have developed and evolved during this time. It covers all the most significant military conflicts that have characterised this era, including the Eleven Day War of Christmas 1972 in Vietnam and the Falklands War of 1982, when Harrier pilots engaged in aerial battles with Skyhawks and when Vulcans, supported by Victor tankers, flew 'Black Buck' raids on Argentine positions. It also explores the era of the Gulf War, which witnessed the Victor and the B-52 fighting alongside Buccaneers, Tornadoes and F-111s.Then there is the ongoing war against terror, culminating in the opening stages of 'Inherent Resolve' which has seen Tornadoes, F/A-18 Hornets, Soviet-built Su-24M2 and Su-30CM jet fighters, Su-25 SM armoured subsonic close air support/attack aircraft, Su-34 multi-role fighter/bombers and the Tupolev Tu-160 'Blackjack' heavy strategic bombers employed in the war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.The author's well-researched historical narrative sets a range of dramatic first-hand crew-member accounts solidly in context, creating a rounded and authentic sense of events as they played out during five dynamic decades of aviation history.